Try this game out. There is no guarentee you'll like it, but it's still worth trying if you want a nostalgic FPS game
As a big fan of Unreal Tournament, I found it hard to ignore the various versions, sequels and spin-offs that were release over the years. The problem is though, the Unreal Tournament has always performed poorly on consoles, with bad frame-rates, terrible control and seriously restricted in terms of levels, weapons and general features made famous in the game.
Out of all the versions that could of been the best, the PS2 sits firmly near the top of the pile. Essentially this game was no different from it's PC version, although vast changes were made to help the game blend in better with the storyline that was added in the sequels. Some new stuff was added into this version although a lot of stuff was taken out, which made me more interested in reviewing this game.
So lets get over the whole thing once and for all. This version of the game is crippled, no matter how you look at it. Although the presentation is clearly well done and gorgeously executed, be prepared for a serious let down in the visuals department. Unreal Tournament looks dated on PS2, there I said it. The visuals seems bland and blurred, it's incredibly visible and can be noticed by anyone. The animation is weak, really weak and looks slower and far more sluggish than on the PC and finally the frame-rate suffers serious slowdown issues.
It's hard to accept though because Unreal Tournament has such beautiful design - the levels are arranged well, the guns look original at best and the characters are diverse and all unique in appearance, so why exactly is the visuals such a screw up? Is it bad aging? Or was the port of the game that bad? Either way, if you compare the PC version and PS2 version you won't be hard pressed on finding differences because they are so many at first glance and the changes are for the worse.
With that out of the way though, you (mostly) have the same Unreal Tournament experience as on the PC. An example of this is the sound which was very good and suited the games purpose perfectly in the first place. Unreal Tournament has a mix of booming songs, slow music and progression tracks that are all chosen carefully on each level.
Also, Unreal Tournament has much better personality than other games and this is thanks to some good, and perhaps a little cheesy, dialogue and taunts from the players, what's better is that they fit the purpose very well which is always good if people are looking for a substitute to microphones and keyboard while playing friends.
Another thing that adds personality is the announcer and Unreal Tournament is the only FPS game that actually sounds good with one, this would be eventually improved in the sequels however. So, the gameplay, what is it like? Well it kicks butt. Unreal Tournament is really fun because of it's amount of play modes available including death match, capture the flag, domination and many more. The guns in Unreal are really fun to use also, especially the redeemer, which blows everything up pretty much.
However Unreal Tournament on PS2 lacks what really made the game famous, online play, which really takes a toll on the gameplay. Also there are other issues to that I still have to address. For example, this game is really hard to play with a controller and will take immense amounts of time to tweak properly for your pleasure. It will simply never turn as fast or slow as you want it. Although thankfully, you can use mouse and keyboard.
Because there is no online play, gamers have to rely on the single player features of Unreal Tournament, although unlike the PC version, they have been improved for PS2 gamers, with extra maps, bosses and a much improved feeling of achievement.
Another few issues with Unreal Tournament involve the fact that it's a lot weaker than the PC version, so we have much smaller levels and far fewer CPU enemies to fight against. What makes it worse, is this game is awful to play in standard splitscreen with only a few small and boring levels only allowed for the players. In the end, Unreal Tournament is a fun game, but perhaps not first choice for FPS fans or demanding PS2 owners. Unreal Tournament was simply done badly on the PS2 and the fact that the game lacks online features and weak graphics almost makes this game a complete no-buy.
Although be glad that even with these issues that it still proves to be a quality game thanks to having a good sense of humour, personality and ability to deliver a good single player experience for a good few hours. And when you think about it, the gameplay of Unreal Tournament is still incredibly fun, even without online play. So basically, try this game out. There is no guarantee you'll like it, but it's still worth trying if you want a nostalgic Unreal Tournament trip.